Fungal Planet description sheets: 1550-1613.

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Argentina, Neocamarosporium halophilum in leaf spots of Atriplex undulata. Australia, Aschersonia merianiae on scale insect (Coccoidea), Curvularia huamulaniae isolated from air, Hevansia mainiae on dead spider, Ophiocordyceps poecilometigena on Poecilometis sp. Bolivia, Lecanora menthoides on sandstone, in open semi-desert montane areas, Sticta monlueckiorum corticolous in a forest, Trichonectria epimegalosporae on apothecia of corticolous Megalospora sulphurata var. sulphurata, Trichonectria puncteliae on the thallus of Punctelia borreri. Brazil, Catenomargarita pseudocercosporicola (incl. Catenomargarita gen. nov.) hyperparasitic on Pseudocercospora fijiensis on leaves of Musa acuminata, Tulasnella restingae on protocorms and roots of Epidendrum fulgens. Bulgaria, Anthracoidea umbrosae on Carex spp. Croatia, Hymenoscyphus radicis from surface-sterilised, asymptomatic roots of Microthlaspi erraticum, Orbilia multiserpentina on wood of decorticated branches of Quercus pubescens. France, Calosporella punctatispora on dead corticated twigs of Aceropalus. French West Indies (Martinique), Eutypella lechatii on dead corticated palm stem. Germany, Arrhenia alcalinophila on loamy soil. Iceland, Cistella blauvikensis on dead grass (Poaceae). India, Fulvifomes maritimus on living Peltophorum pterocarpum, Fulvifomes natarajanii on dead wood of Prosopis juliflora, Fulvifomes subazonatus on trunk of Azadirachta indica, Macrolepiota bharadwajii on moist soil near the forest, Narcissea delicata on decaying elephant dung, Paramyrothecium indicum on living leaves of Hibiscus hispidissimus, Trichoglossum syamviswanathii on moist soil near the base of a bamboo plantation. Iran, Vacuiphoma astragalicola from stem canker of Astragalus sarcocolla. Malaysia, Neoeriomycopsis fissistigmae (incl. Neoeriomycopsidaceae fam. nov.) on leaf spots on flower Fissistigma sp. Namibia, Exophiala lichenicola lichenicolous on Acarospora cf. luederitzensis. Netherlands, Entoloma occultatum on soil, Extremus caricis on dead leaves of Carex sp., Inocybe pseudomytiliodora on loamy soil. Norway, Inocybe guldeniae on calcareous soil, Inocybe rupestroides on gravelly soil. Pakistan, Hymenagaricus brunneodiscus on soil. Philippines, Ophiocordyceps philippinensis parasitic on Asilus sp. Poland, Hawksworthiomyces ciconiae isolated from Ciconia ciconia nest, Plectosphaerella vigrensis from leaf spots on Impatiens noli-tangere, Xenoramularia epitaxicola from sooty mould community on Taxus baccata. Portugal, Inocybe dagamae on clay soil. Saudi Arabia, Diaporthe jazanensis on branches of Coffea arabica. South Africa, Alternaria moraeae on dead leaves of Moraea sp., Bonitomyces buffels-kloofinus (incl. Bonitomyces gen. nov.) on dead twigs of unknown tree, Constrictochalara koukolii on living leaves of Itea rhamnoides colonised by a Meliola sp., Cylindromonium lichenophilum on Parmelina tiliacea, Gamszarella buffelskloofina (incl. Gamszarella gen. nov.) on dead insect, Isthmosporiella africana (incl. Isthmosporiella gen. nov.) on dead twigs of unknown tree, Nothoeucasphaeria buffelskloofina (incl. Nothoeucasphaeria gen. nov.), on dead twigs of unknown tree, Nothomicrothyrium beaucarneae (incl. Nothomicrothyrium gen. nov.) on dead leaves of Beaucarnea stricta, Paramycosphaerella proteae on living leaves of Protea caffra, Querciphoma foliicola on leaf litter, Rachicladosporium conostomii on dead twigs of Conostomium natalense var. glabrum, Rhamphoriopsis synnematosa on dead twig of unknown tree, Waltergamsia mpumalanga on dead leaves of unknown tree. Spain, Amanita fulvogrisea on limestone soil, in mixed forest, Amanita herculis in open Quercus forest, Vuilleminia beltraniae on Cistus symphytifolius. Sweden, Pachyella pulchella on decaying wood on sand-silt riverbank. Thailand, Deniquelata cassiae on dead stem of Cassia fistula, Stomiopeltis thailandica on dead twigs of Magnolia champaca. Ukraine, Circinaria podoliana on natural limestone outcrops, Neonematogonum carpinicola (incl. Neonematogonum gen. nov.) on dead branches of Carpinus betulus. USA, Exophiala wilsonii water from cooling tower, Hygrophorus aesculeticola on soil in mixed forest, and Neocelosporium aereum from air in a house attic. Morphological and culture characteristics are supported by DNA barcodes. Citation: Crous PW, Costa MM, Kandemir H, et al. 2023. Fungal Planet description sheets: 1550-1613. Persoonia 51: 280-417. doi: 10.3767/persoonia.2023.51.08.

Diversity of colacosome-interacting mycoparasites expands the understanding of the evolution and ecology of Microbotryomycetes.

Mycoparasites in Basidiomycota comprise a diverse group of fungi, both morphologically and phylogenetically. They interact with their hosts through either fusion-interaction or colacosome-interaction. Colacosomes are subcellular structures formed by the mycoparasite at the host-parasite interface, which penetrate the parasite and host cell walls. Previously, these structures were detected in 19 fungal species, usually by means of transmission electron microscopy. Most colacosome-forming species have been assigned to Microbotryomycetes (Pucciniomycotina, Basidiomycota), a highly diverse class, comprising saprobic yeasts, mycoparasites, and phytoparasites. In general, these myco- and phytoparasites are dimorphic organisms, with a parasitic filamentous morph and saprobic yeast morph. We investigated colacosome-forming mycoparasites based on fungarium material, freshly collected specimens, and cultures of yeast morphs. We characterised the micromorphology of filamentous morphs, the physiological characteristics of yeast morphs, and inferred phylogenetic relationships based on DNA sequence data from seven loci. We outline and employ an epifluorescence-based microscopic method to assess the presence and organisation of colacosomes. We describe five new species in the genus Colacogloea, the novel dimorphic mycoparasite Mycogloiocolax gerardii, and provide the first report of a sexual, mycoparasitic morph in Colacogloea philyla and in the genus Slooffia. We detected colacosomes in eight fungal species, which brings the total number of known colacosome-forming fungi to 27. Finally, we revealed three distinct types of colacosome organisation in Microbotryomycetes. Taxonomic novelties and typifications: New family: Mycogloiocolacaeae Schoutteten & Yurkov; New genus: Mycogloiocolax Schoutteten & Rödel; New species: Colacogloea bettinae Schoutteten & Begerow, C. biconidiata Schoutteten, C. fennica Schoutteten & Miettinen, C. microspora Schoutteten, C. universitatis-gandavensis Schoutteten & Verbeken, Mycogloiocolax gerardii Schoutteten & Rödel; New combinations: Slooffia micra (Bourdot & Galzin) Schoutteten, Fellozyma cerberi (A.M. Yurkov et al.) Schoutteten & Yurkov, Fellozyma telluris (A.M. Yurkov et al.) Schoutteten & Yurkov; Epitypifications (basionyms): Achroomyces insignis Hauerslev, Platygloea micra Bourdot & Galzin, Platygloea peniophorae Bourdot & Galzin; Lectotypification (basionym): Platygloea peniophorae Bourdot & Galzin Citation: Schoutteten N, Yurkov A, Leroux O, Haelewaters D, Van Der Straeten D, Miettinen O, Boekhout T, Begerow D, Verbeken A (2023). Diversity of colacosome-interacting mycoparasites expands the understanding of the evolution and ecology of Microbotryomycetes. Studies in Mycology 106: 41-94. doi: 10.3114/sim.2022.106.02.

Raveneliapiepenbringiae and Raveneliahernandezii, two new rust species on Senegalia (Fabaceae, Mimosoideae) from Panama and Costa Rica.

Two new rust species, Raveneliapiepenbringiae and R.hernandezii (Pucciniales) on Senegalia spp. (Fabaceae) are described from the Neotropics (Panama, Costa Rica). A key to the species on neotropical Senegalia spp. is provided. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on 28S rDNA sequence data suggest that the representatives of Senegalia rusts distributed in the neotropics evolved independently from species known from South Africa. This is further supported by the teliospore morphology, which is characterised by uniseriate cysts in the neotropical Senegalia rusts and contrasting multiseriate cysts in the paleotropic Ravenelia species that infect this host genus.

Arbutoid mycorrhizas of the genus Cortinarius from Costa Rica.

Arbutoid mycorrhizas of Comarostaphylis arbutoides (Arbutoidea, Ericaceae) from neotropical montane forests are rarely described. To date, only mycorrhizal associations with the fungal species Leccinum monticola, Leotia lubrica and Sebacina sp. are known from literature. The genus Cortinarius is one of the most species-rich ectomycorrhizal taxa with over 2000 assumed species. In this study, two sites in the Cordillera de Talamanca of Costa Rica were sampled, where Com. arbutoides is endemic and grows together with Quercus costaricensis. Using a combined method of rDNA sequence analysis and morphotyping, 33 sampled mycorrhizal systems of Cortinarius were assigned to the subgenera Dermocybe, Phlegmacium and Telamonia. Specific plant primers were used to identify the host plant. Here, we present the phylogenetic data of all found Cortinarii and describe four of the arbutoid mycorrhizal systems morphologically and anatomically.

Two yeast species Cystobasidium psychroaquaticum f.a. sp. nov. and Cystobasidium rietchieii f.a. sp. nov. isolated from natural environments, and the transfer of Rhodotorula minuta clade members to the genus Cystobasidium.

Many species of dimorphic basidiomycetes are known only in their asexual phase and typically those pigmented in different hues of red have been classified in the large polyphyletic genus Rhodotorula. These yeasts are ubiquitous and include a few species of some clinical relevance. The phylogenetic distribution of Rhodotorula spans three classes: Microbotryomycetes, Cystobasidiomycetes and Exobasidiomycetes. Here, the presented multi-gene analyses resolved phylogenetic relationships between the second largest group of Rhodotorula and the mycoparasite Cystobasidium fimetarium (Cystobasidiales, Cystobasidiomycetes, Pucciniomycotina). Based on the results, we propose the transfer of nine species belonging to the Rhodotorula minuta clade into the genus Cystobasidium. As a result, the clinically relevant species R. minuta will be renamed Cystobasidium minutum. This proposal follows ongoing reassessments of the anamorphic genus Rhodotorula reducing the polyphyly of this genus. The delimitation of the R. minuta clade from Rhodotorula species comprised in Sporidiobolales including the type species Rhodotorula glutinis is an important step to overcome obsolete generic placements of asexual basidiomycetous yeasts. Our proposal will also help to distinguish most common red yeasts from clinical samples such as members of Sporidiobolales and Cystobasidiales. The diagnosis of the genus Cystobasidium is amended by including additional characteristics known for the related group of species. The taxonomic change enables us to classify two novel species with the phylogenetically related members of the R. minuta clade in Cystobasidium. The recently from natural environments isolated species are described here as Cystobasidium psychroaquaticum f.a. sp. nov. (K-833(T) = KBP 3881(T) = VKPM Y-3653(T) = CBS 11769(T) = MUCL 52875(T) = DSM 27713(T)) and Cystobasidium rietchiei f.a. sp. nov. (K-780(T) = KBP 4220(T) = VKPM Y-3658(T) = CBS 12324(T) = MUCL 53589(T) = DSM 27155(T)). The new species were registered in MycoBank under MB 809336 and MB 809337, respectively.

One fungus, which genes? Development and assessment of universal primers for potential secondary fungal DNA barcodes.

The aim of this study was to assess potential candidate gene regions and corresponding universal primer pairs as secondary DNA barcodes for the fungal kingdom, additional to ITS rDNA as primary barcode. Amplification efficiencies of 14 (partially) universal primer pairs targeting eight genetic markers were tested across > 1 500 species (1 931 strains or specimens) and the outcomes of almost twenty thousand (19 577) polymerase chain reactions were evaluated. We tested several well-known primer pairs that amplify: i) sections of the nuclear ribosomal RNA gene large subunit (D1-D2 domains of 26/28S); ii) the complete internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1/2); iii) partial ß -tubulin II (TUB2); iv) γ-actin (ACT); v) translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1α); and vi) the second largest subunit of RNA-polymerase II (partial RPB2, section 5-6). Their PCR efficiencies were compared with novel candidate primers corresponding to: i) the fungal-specific translation elongation factor 3 (TEF3); ii) a small ribosomal protein necessary for t-RNA docking; iii) the 60S L10 (L1) RP; iv) DNA topoisomerase I (TOPI); v) phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK); vi) hypothetical protein LNS2; and vii) alternative sections of TEF1α. Results showed that several gene sections are accessible to universal primers (or primers universal for phyla) yielding a single PCR-product. Barcode gap and multi-dimensional scaling analyses revealed that some of the tested candidate markers have universal properties providing adequate infra- and inter-specific variation that make them attractive barcodes for species identification. Among these gene sections, a novel high fidelity primer pair for TEF1α, already widely used as a phylogenetic marker in mycology, has potential as a supplementary DNA barcode with superior resolution to ITS. Both TOPI and PGK show promise for the Ascomycota, while TOPI and LNS2 are attractive for the Pucciniomycotina, for which universal primers for ribosomal subunits often fail.

Multigene phylogeny and taxonomic revision of yeasts and related fungi in the Ustilaginomycotina.

The subphylum Ustilaginomycotina (Basidiomycota, Fungi) comprises mainly plant pathogenic fungi (smuts). Some of the lineages possess cultivable unicellular stages that are usually classified as yeast or yeast-like species in a largely artificial taxonomic system which is independent from and largely incompatible with that of the smut fungi. Here we performed phylogenetic analyses based on seven genes including three nuclear ribosomal RNA genes and four protein coding genes to address the molecular phylogeny of the ustilaginomycetous yeast species and their filamentous counterparts. Taxonomic revisions were proposed to reflect this phylogeny and to implement the 'One Fungus = One Name' principle. The results confirmed that the yeast-containing classes Malasseziomycetes, Moniliellomycetes and Ustilaginomycetes are monophyletic, whereas Exobasidiomycetes in the current sense remains paraphyletic. Four new genera, namely Dirkmeia gen. nov., Kalmanozyma gen. nov., Golubevia gen. nov. and Robbauera gen. nov. are proposed to accommodate Pseudozyma and Tilletiopsis species that are distinct from the other smut taxa and belong to clades that are separate from those containing type species of the hitherto described genera. Accordingly, new orders Golubeviales ord. nov. with Golubeviaceae fam. nov. and Robbauerales ord. nov. with Robbaueraceae fam. nov. are proposed to accommodate the sisterhood of Golubevia gen. nov. and Robbauera gen. nov. with other orders of Exobasidiomycetes. The majority of the remaining anamorphic yeast species are transferred to corresponding teleomorphic genera based on strongly supported phylogenetic affinities, resulting in the proposal of 28 new combinations. The taxonomic status of a few Pseudozyma species remains to be determined because of their uncertain phylogenetic positions. We propose to use the term pro tempore or pro tem. in abbreviation to indicate the single-species lineages that are temporarily maintained.

Leotia cf. lubrica forms arbutoid mycorrhiza with Comarostaphylis arbutoides (Ericaceae).

Arbutoid mycorrhizal plants are commonly found as understory vegetation in forests worldwide where ectomycorrhiza-forming trees occur. Comarostaphylis arbutoides (Ericaceae) is a tropical woody plant and common in tropical Central America. This plant forms arbutoid mycorrhiza, whereas only associations with Leccinum monticola as well as Sebacina sp. are described so far. We collected arbutoid mycorrhizas of C. arbutoides from the Cerro de la Muerte (Cordillera de Talamanca), Costa Rica, where this plant species grows together with Quercus costaricensis. We provide here the first evidence of mycorrhizal status for the Ascomycete Leotia cf. lubrica (Helotiales) that was so far under discussion as saprophyte or mycorrhizal. This fungus formed arbutoid mycorrhiza with C. arbutoides. The morphotype was described morphologically and anatomically. Leotia cf. lubrica was identified using molecular methods, such as sequencing the internal-transcribed spacer (ITS) and the large subunit (LSU) ribosomal DNA regions, as well as phylogenetic analyses. Specific plant primers were used to confirm C. arbutoides as the host plant of the leotioid mycorrhiza.

Leucosporidium drummii sp. nov., a member of the Microbotryomycetes isolated from soil.

Two strains of a novel teleomorphic basidiomycete were isolated from grassland soil. Standard phenotypic tests and phylogenetic analyses of 26S rRNA gene (D1/D2 domains) and ITS region sequences showed that the species belongs to the core group of the genus Leucosporidium. A novel species, Leucosporidium drummii sp. nov., is proposed to accommodate the two strains, with SEG-3-2-AY220(T) (=CBS 11562(T)=MUCL 52878(T)) as the type strain. In addition, phylogenetic analysis revealed great genetic variability in the Leucosporidium scottii complex.

Thecaphora capensis sp. nov., an unusual new anther smut on Oxalis in South Africa.

The smut genus Thecaphora contains plant parasitic microfungi that typically infect very specific plant organs. In this study, we describe a new species of Thecaphora from Oxalis lanata var. rosea (Oxalidaceae) in the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa. Molecular phylogenetic reconstructions based on large subunit ribosomal DNA sequence data confirmed the generic placement of the fungus and confirmed that it represents an undescribed species for which the name T. capensis sp. nov. is provided. The closest known sister species of the new taxon is T. oxalidis that infects the fruits of Oxalis spp. in Europe, Asia and the Americas. In contrast, T. capensis produces teliospores within the anthers of its host. This is the first documented case of an anther-smut from an African species of Oxalis and the first Thecaphora species described from Africa.

Small subunit ribosomal DNA sequence shows Paracoccidioides brasiliensis closely related to Blastomyces dermatitidis.

The similarities of paracoccidioidomycosis and blastomycosis are highly suggestive of a close relation of the two etiological agents. Whereas the agent of the first disease is exclusively endemic in Latin America, the agent of the latter one is endemic in North America and Africa. In symptomatic travelers visiting both areas of endemicity, differentiation of the diseases might be impossible, even though therapy and prognosis for these two diseases differ significantly. In order to identify differences in the 18S rRNA gene (rDNA) for use as molecular diagnostic tools, we sequenced this gene from five isolates of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and compared them to known sequences of other fungi. Neighbor-joining, maximum parsimony, and maximum likelihood analyses and, finally, the Kishino-Hasegawa test revealed that P. brasiliensis, Blastomyces dermatitidis, and Emmonsia parva are more closely related than Histoplasma capsulatum and B. dermatitidis, whose teleomorphic forms belong to one genus, Ajellomyces. In accordance with the work of other investigators who have used internal transcribed spacer and large subunit rDNA sequences, our small subunit rDNA data show that the dimorphic fungus P. brasiliensis must be grouped within the order Onygenales and is closely related to members of the family Onygenaceae. There are hints in the molecular phylogenetic analysis that the family Onygenaceae might be further divided into two families. The subgroup that includes P. brasiliensis comprises all zoopathogenic species. The differences in the 18S rDNAs appear to be too small to allow species identification of the members of the family Onygenaceae pathogenic for humans by use of target sequences within this gene.